Five years and two days after the Rockies selected him with their first pick in the 2009 draft, the left-hander made a glorious big-league debut. The 23-year-old dazzled the Atlanta Braves and led the Rockies to a 8-2 victory at Coors Field.

"A masterful performance by Tyler," manager Walt Weiss said. "He had an explosive fastball, and his slider looked like it disappeared. He threw some good changeups and commanded the pitch. He had it all working."

For 4 1/3 innings, Matzek didn't allow a baserunner. He looked like he just might take his place in baseball history alongside Charles Leander "Bumpus" Jones. Yes, that Bumpus Jones, who began his major-league career Oct. 15, 1892, when he twirled a no-hitter for Cincinnati against visiting Pittsburgh in a 7-1 victory.

"That first inning, I was really, really nervous," Matzek said. "But Mac (catcher Michael McKenry) was calming me down. He said, 'It's just like Triple-A. Go out there and throw your game.' "

So he did, becoming the first Rockies starter to win his major-league debut since Christian Friedrich on May 9, 2012, at San Diego. He became the sixth pitcher in Rockies history to pitch at least seven innings in his MLB debut.

The Braves finally broke through in the fifth with a line shot by Justin Upton that grazed the glove of first baseman Justin Morneau and sailed into right field. Chris Johnson followed with a seeing-eye grounder to right on a hit-and run that had second baseman Josh Rutledge rushing to cover second base. But Matzek regrouped and struck out Tommy La Stella and got Andrelton Simmons to foul out.

Matzek, drafted out of Capistrano Valley High School in Southern California at the tender age of 18, left the mound to a standing ovation in the eighth inning from a crowd of 29,112 starving for clean, well-pitched game.

Before he left the mound, Weiss broke him up with a joke.

"I said, 'Are they cheering for me or for you?' " Weiss said with laugh. "He said, 'They are cheering for you.' "

The line on the scorecard, that will no doubt go in the family scrapbook: seven innings, five hits, two runs, seven strikeouts, and most telling, zero walks. In an anomaly for a Rockies pitcher, Matzek was remarkably efficient, throwing just 81 pitches, 60 for strikes.

For good measure, he got the first hit of his big-league career with an infield single to lead off the seventh and slid into home for his first run on a single by Troy Tulowitzki.

"He did a great job, but I wish he would have stayed in there longer, but I thought he did a great job," Tulo said. "He was calm, cool and focused. He did a lot of good things out there."

Atlanta finally cracked the shutout in the eighth with consecutive singles by Johnson and La Stella, setting the table for Simmons' run-scoring single. With that, Weiss lifted Matzek to a cascade of cheers.

"That was amazing," Matzek said. "We have a great fan base and I want to thank everybody who was here."

The Rockies entered Wednesday's game having lost 14 of their last 17 games and were 1-7 on the current homestand.

Dating to 2011, the Braves owned a 22-5 record against the Rockies. They desperately need a spark on energy and hope — and Matzek delivered.

Starting pitcher Tyler Matzek of the Colorado Rockies delivers against the Atlanta Braves as he makes his Major League debut at Coors Field on June 11, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

"That wasn't my thought process at all," he said. "I just did what I needed to do. Throw to the zone well and stay within myself."

The Rockies gave him an early boost, scoring three runs in the first inning off of Atlanta starter Julio Teheran, who shut the Rockies out for six innings in a 7-0 Braves' victory on May 25. The Rockies strung together singles by Josh Rutledge and Justin Morneau, an RBI-double by Drew Stubbs and a two-run triple by Corey Dickerson, who's now hitting .339. Dickerson added a run-scoring double in the sixth, scoring Stubbs to give the Rockies a 6-0 lead.

Given that early lead, Matzek sprinted to the mound like a Little Leaguer to begin the second inning, grabbing the ball and waiting for catcher Michael McKenry to take his post behind home plate.

Colorado added a run in the third on Stubbs' sacrifice fly to chase home Tulowitzki. Then in the fifth, Tulowitzki caught in a run-down between first and second, played it just right, allowing Rutledge to score.

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